


New Year, New Me

by elcten881



Series: 12 Days of Ficmas (Excluding Fic Updates) [2]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Domestic Violence, F/F, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, welcomemat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:20:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21797536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elcten881/pseuds/elcten881
Summary: Tzuyu has had the worst year of her life and it's up to the girls to help her build herself back up.
Series: 12 Days of Ficmas (Excluding Fic Updates) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569958
Kudos: 43





	New Year, New Me

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Day 3 of 12 Days of Ficmas! 
> 
> To see any of the days you’ve missed check out @Elcten on twitter cause all the links be there!
> 
> Gets rushed a little at the end because my CLOUD FUCKED UP AND DELETED HALF OF IT!

_ APRIL _

__

Nayeon was stood at the arrivals gate bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Some would view the bouncing as excitement but it wasn’t, well maybe partly but mostly it was nerves. She didn’t know what she’d see when Tzuyu arrived, but it wouldn’t be good whatever it was. Still she supposed despite the circumstances it would still be nice to see her old school friend. Back in high school it had been the nine of them that made up the most popular girls at JYP; Nayeon herself was head cheerleader, Jeongyeon was leader of the band geeks, Momo was captain of the dance team, Sana was the school heartthrob, Jihyo was student council president, Mina was Queen of the Nerds, Dahyun was the class clown, Chaeyoung was the brooding artist all girls fawned over and Tzuyu…Tzuyu was their baby. They were like family, nine or none!

Then they graduated and went their separate ways for college. Tzuyu herself was forced back to Taiwan for college, she didn’t get the scholarship she needed to stay in Korea and so had to return home. The last time they’d seen her in person had been at her going away party, they’d gone to Sana’s and had a huge party for her. After that they only saw her through video chat until, for reasons they didn’t know until two weeks ago, Tzuyu dropped off the face of the planet. At first it was put down to Tzuyu having a new life in Taiwan, they’d been sad to learn she had gotten married and not invited them to the wedding but they eventually learned why.

They found out everything after Nayeon received a phone-call from Tzuyu two weeks ago asking for legal advice. At first Nayeon had wanted to scold her for only calling when she wanted something but then Tzuyu told her everything: the abuse, the black eyes, the insults - everything, her precious little sister beaten black and blue by her soon-to-be-ex-husband known from then after as _the bastard._ Nayeon had demanded Tzuyu come to Korea, she had sorted all the details whilst on the phone with her and threatened to go over to Taiwan and get her if she wasn’t on that plane. As face after face walked into arrivals Nayeon kept a look out for her old friend and felt her heart break when she saw her.

The once tanned, beautiful girl that had won Prettiest Girl in the yearbook every year since she transferred looked very different now. She was pale, like a ghost, with her once innocent and bright doe eyes pitch black. If her body was any indication she hadn’t been eating properly, she was skeletal - Tzuyu had always been thin but Nayeon was sure she could see where the vain hugged bone.

The worst part? The bruises. The black eye that stood out from across the room, little purple marks trailing under the neckline of her shirt. Her right arm was in a sling and her lip was swollen and split. For a moment she was stunned, tears rushing to her eyes, so horrified by the sight in front of her she barely registered Tzuyu spotting her. When Nayeon noticed her struggling with the big suitcase she was pulling, it wasn’t that big either Tzuyu was just very frail, she snapped out of it and practically ran over. She gently pulled the frail girl in for a hug, Tzuyu tensing suddenly at the contact. It wasn’t a tight hug, Nayeon may snap her in half, but it was comforting at least.

“Tzuyu-ah…” Nayeon whispered when she pulled away, eyes glimmering with unshed tears, “What did…What did that bastard do to you?”

Tzuyu just shook her head and came in for another hug. Nayeon wanted to cry, she and Tzuyu had always had a joking-love/hate relationship. The old Tzuyu would have shoved Nayeon away and called her old, this Tzuyu had no energy for either of those things. All she did was cling to Nayeon as though her life depended on it.

“C’mon Tzu,” Nayeon whispered, “Let’s get you home.”

__________

_ MAY _

__

Jeongyeon stood in Nayeon’s kitchen chopping up vegetables for lunch.

Every day. Every single day, she did this. She would bail on her plans or take her lunch break to drive round to Nayeon’s and make Tzuyu a proper meal. As a lawyer Nayeon was often gone during the day so Jeongyeon had offered to check in on their maknae during her absence. When Tzuyu first arrived she had been as thin as a rake, Nayeon had sent a message to the others that she hadn’t been in a good state but none of them were prepared for how bad it really was. It had taken three of them to stop Chaeyoung jumping on a flight to Taiwan to recreate every bruise on the bastard. Jeongyeon didn’t restrain her, in fact she would have gladly gone with her.

Jeongyeon had never been good at emotional stuff, everyone always went to Sana or Nayeon or Jihyo for comfort. Jeongyeon was better for a bad joke or silly prank to cheer someone up. Only this time Tzuyu’s problem couldn’t be solved by a dad joke or pun. Tzuyu wouldn’t even talk, let alone laugh. But what Jeongyeon could do was cook and make sure Tzuyu started looking a healthy weight again. So each and every day Jeongyeon would cook a huge meal, usually the younger would only pick at it but the last week or so she had started finishing the meals and there was a noticeable difference in her. She was still unhealthily thin but she no longer resembled a skeleton.

Every afternoon at midday Tzuyu would go for a nap, the doctor had suggested it until she was completely healed. The bruises had faded away now but her arm was still in a sling and would be for at least another month. While she slept Jeongyeon would cook so that when she woke up she had some nice warm food to sit down with. It created a routine, some normality, to help her transition into a person again. It also made Jeongyeon feel less useless, like she was doing enough and actually helping.

She had the radio playing softly behind her as she cooked, the food was almost ready to serve but she was taking a little more time so that Tzuyu could nap longer. Unfortunately, there was no point as footsteps sounded on the steps, descending slowly. Jeongyeon turned briefly to smile at the sleepy-Yoda leaning against the door frame. Comparing how she had looked when Jeongyeon had first seen her, Tzuyu was improving but she was still extremely pale and frail. Knowing she wasn’t going to get too much response from the woman Jeongyeon gestured for her to take a seat and began dishing up the food.

“Dig in.” Jeongyeon told her, fixing herself a plate before taking the seat opposite,

Tzuyu didn’t reply, she had spoken extremely little since she arrived. A few one word answers but nothing substantial. They suspected the bastard had hit her whenever she talked back to him and so she had conformed into the perfect little housewife - seen not heard. It made Jeongyeon’s stomach churn. Tzuyu was their baby, the fact someone had treated her like that was awful. She wished she could get her hands on this guy, they all did.

But as Tzuyu gently nibbled at the food in front of her Jeongyeon felt better, she was safe now that was all that mattered.

“Thank you.” Her voice was hoarse from lack of use, but Jeongyeon smiled at the sound,

“You’re welcome, Tzuyu.”

_________

_ JUNE _

__

Momo never really felt like an unnie.

She knew that the other girls all viewed her as someone who needed to be protected, like she needed to be taken care of. For the most part she was fine with that, except times like this. She had hoped the younger girls knew that they could come to her if they needed to but when Tzuyu got back she realised how wrong she was. Nobody would tell her anything, claiming Momo was too ‘innocent’ to know the details. That had hurt her feelings, Tzuyu was her friend too and she wanted to help. For this reason when Jeongyeon announced she couldn’t look in on Tzuyu one day, Momo took the day off and said she’d do it. 

Her cooking had vastly improved since her days as a poor college student, so she was guaranteed not to add food poisoning to the list of problems Tzuyu was having. She had just finished making lunch and was wondering when Tzuyu would come down. Jeongyeon said she usually appeared shortly after she finished cooking, Tzuyu had always had an amazing body clock, but Momo had finished a few minutes ago and the tall girl hadn’t appeared. Arguing with herself a moment, Momo decided to go and wake her. Tzuyu’s life being in routine was important at the moment and Momo knew that.

She went upstairs to Nayeon’s spare room, as she got close she thought she could hear Tzuyu speaking to herself.

_“No…”_

Momo only knew the bare minimum of Tzuyu’s first language, they’d had a competition once over who could learn more of the others language, but she knew enough to translate a couple of sentences.

_“...no…please stop, it hurts…”_

With a new sense of urgency Momo ran to open the door, Tzuyu was laying in her bed - tossing and turning. Her body was covered in sweat and she was pleading in Mandarin to an invisible person. Momo felt her chest ache. Tzuyu sounded so scared, so desperate. She walked over and sat on the bed, feeling completely out of her depth. All she could do was gently try to wake her.

“Tzu? Tzuyu, wake up!” She called, “It’s okay wake up.”

Tzuyu began to stir.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.”

_“No….please….stop...”_ Tzuyu kept muttering as Momo gently roused her,

Tzuyu suddenly sat bolt upright, panting, tears rolling down her face as she shook. Without even thinking about it Momo pulled her gently into a hug. Running her hand up and down Tzuyu’s back, the older girl whispered to her “you’re okay” “you’re in Korea” over and over. Tzuyu clung to her, sobbing, terrified but eventually Momo felt her begin to relax.

“Shh, you’re okay. I’m here.” Momo whispered, tearing up herself,

Tzuyu pulled away after a while and began wiping her tears on the duvet.

“You okay?”

She nodded.

“If you want to talk about it…we can.” Momo told her, “Or if you’d rather not, lunch is ready.”

Tzuyu kept her gaze on the piece of duvet she was playing with.

Momo sighed, “I’m a big girl Tzuyu, whatever you need to tell me - I’ll listen.”

Doe eyes met hers, she looked so scared, “I’ve been having nightmares.”

“That’s normal,” Momo told her, “Can I ask what they’re about?”

Tzuyu looked away again, “He used to…”

Momo rubbed her arm, “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“N-No…I should.” Tzuyu sighed, “I’m fed up of being a burden and not explaining why.”

“You are not a burden!” Momo snapped, “Never say that, you had something traumatic happen only you know when you’re getting better.”

“Okay…”

“So do you want to tell me?”

Tzuyu thought for a moment before nodding, “He used to leave a list of things he wanted done before he got home from work, usually one full page of stuff but sometimes two. In the dream I finish the list and he comes home, then suddenly there’s a whole other side I didn’t see. He…”

Momo rubbed her back, prompting her to continue.

“He used to go mad, screaming and yelling that I was a bad wife. In the dream he gets bigger and bigger until he could flatten me under his foot and then the….the..beating starts….and….”

“Did that happen a lot?” Momo found herself asking,

“At first,” Tzuyu admitted, “We got married and by the end of the honeymoon I knew arguing back wouldn’t end well. I spent my first day as a wife learning to cover the black eye he gave me for forgetting my morning after pills at home. I offered to get some from the pharmacy but he said…”

Momo’s stomach turned, “Said?”

“...said bad wives need to be taught a lesson. Then he hit me for the first time.”

Momo silently seethed.

“After that it got worse, he would lock me in the house when he wasn’t home so I wouldn’t go and ‘meet other men’, I couldn’t even call my brother without him screaming at me. He smashed my phone, threw out my laptop. I was his property, he decided when I ate, when I could sleep, when I….” Tzuyu swallowed, “when we should have sex.”

Momo would kill him if she met him.

“He would starve me for weeks sometimes.” Tzuyu chuckled darkly, “I was his wife, I had to do what he said.”

“He’s disgusting,” Momo told her, “You deserve so much more, I hope you know that.”

Tzuyu appeared to ignore that comment, “It was only when my friend got worried and dropped by on him on top of me while I was screaming at him to stop that I realised I had to escape. She pulled him off and he hit her and kicked her out before beating me half to death and breaking my arm. I realised I was actually scared for my life, I thought he was going to kill me. So I called Nayeon.”

“I’m glad you did,” Momo said, “He can’t touch you any more. Not while we’re here.”

Tzuyu smiled but looked unsure, “I know.”

“You don’t understand.” Momo shook her head, “If he ever came here, do you know how many people would be out for his blood? You know Jihyo’s husband, Daniel? He told us that if we so much as hear a rumour that bastard is in town he will get every guy at his gym to kick his ass. We’re here now Tzuyu, I swear we aren’t going anywhere. We will protect you.”

Tzuyu smiled genuinely, “Thanks Mo.”

“Not bad for a pabo, ay?”

“You’re not a pabo Momo,” Tzuyu sighed, “You just think different.”

Momo felt proud, she had managed to help.

She was a good Unnie.

_________

_ JULY _

__

Sana sat in the waiting room patiently.

Checking her watch she would see that she had about ten minutes left before Tzuyu’s session ended. The younger had been doing so well over the past month and had slowly started opening up about everything she’d been through. Unfortunately, there were some things she refused to tell them - darker things that she didn’t wish to put on them. They understood why but all had agreed she should speak to somebody about the darker stuff and Sana had floated the idea of finding Tzuyu a therapist. Initially, Tzuyu had refused the idea as not only was she not the most open person naturally, she simply couldn’t afford it.

The uproar that happened after she said that startled her quite a bit, the girls told her they would pay for it until Tzuyu had found stability. They refused to even hear of her funding the cost until she was in a better place. Sana always had Thursday’s off so she was free to drive Tzuyu to and from her sessions. She had taken it upon herself to help Tzuyu adjust to leaving the house, since moving in with Nayeon the girl had remained shut in - too scared to venture out. So Sana had been taking her on little walks every morning to get her used to being outside, she’d let Tzuyu choose the route to give her some power back and the younger girl seemed to enjoy it.

Maybe when she was ready Sana could get her a dog so that she could take it for walks and get out the house?

Until that day Sana would happily go for for their morning walks and wait for her friend to get the help she needed. Tzuyu would never talk much about her sessions, but they appeared to be going well simply because she hadn’t claimed any different. Today however, was the first time Tzuyu had left a session with red rings round her eyes from crying. Sana’s usual remedy for tears was a tight hug but she didn’t know if Tzuyu would welcome that in public so instead she offered a smile and led her out to the parking lot. Only once they were in the car did she begin asking questions.

“Did it go okay in there?”

“It was…harder today than has been.” Tzuyu admitted, “We talked through things in a level of detail I never had before and I got upset.”

Sana decided to not pry, even though part of her wanted to, “Do you feel better for talking about it?”

“A little,” Tzuyu sighed, staring out at the buildings they passed, “I love you guys but you were right, there’s some stuff I just can’t talk to you about.”

“We’d listen,” Sana told her, “But I get what you mean - knowing what we do know is pretty painful. You’re our baby Tzu.”

“I just want you all to stop looking at me like I’m broken.”

Sana nearly swerved, “Huh?”

Tzuyu chewed her lip, “What I went through was shitty, but I’m not going to get better if you all keep walking on thin ice around me.”

“We have?”

There was a nod, Sana saw it out the corner of her eye, “I’ve noticed; you wont talk about your bad dating stories when I’m in the room, Jihyo wont bring Daniel over because she’s worried I’m not ready to be around a guy again, Jeongyeon keeps making way to much food to the point Nayeon has more left overs in her fridge than actual meals and every time you all look at me you look like you’re going to burst into tears.”

“It’s because we worry about you.”

“I get that,” Tzuyu acknowledged, “I appreciate that, you know I do. Maybe I did need all that at first but now I just need things to go back to normal, to be treated normally. I love you all, but I’m okay now I don’t need any more special treatment.”

“I didn’t know you felt like that.”

“Telling people you don’t need their help always sounds ungrateful.”

“I get it,” Sana sighed, “I’ll talk to everyone about it, we’ll try tone it down. We’ve missed our girl, glad to see she’s back!”

Tzuyu smiled a little, “I’m finally starting to feel like myself again.”

“Good.”

“Thank you.” Tzuyu said sincerely, “For everything.”

“I did nothing sweetie,” Sana beamed, “You did the hard stuff yourself, we just helped you on your way.”

She did in fact talk to the others that night and they agreed they were going a little overboard.

All Tzuyu would need is their support.

And she had it, no questions asked.

__________

_ AUGUST _

__

Jihyo had been so nervous about tonight.

The group had all gone to Nayeon’s to celebrate Tzuyu’s new job. She had been searching for a while with help from her therapist and had been given a job as an assistant veterinarian. She had a degree in animal care and veterinary science which, when added to her love of animals, meant her new bosses adored her. The reason for Jihyo’s worry was that she was finally going to introduce Tzuyu to her husband. Daniel was equally nervous, he knew that Tzuyu was practically Jihyo’s little sister and that the duo had a special bond. He wanted Tzuyu to like him and he definitely didn’t want to scare her.

Jihyo had been rightfully nervous about bringing Daniel to meet Tzuyu. Nobody had really understood the true reason behind Jihyo’s fear, sure Tzuyu’s ex-husband was an evil man but she could be around men that weren’t evil. But they hadn’t seen what Jihyo had. At first Tzuyu couldn’t shower alone due to the cast that had been on her arm and so Jihyo offered to go in and help her. The first night she did she had gone home and burst into tears in her husbands arms. The visible bruising had been bad but seeing what that bastard had left under where her clothes were had been traumatic to see let alone for Tzuyu to have experienced.

If that would have happened to her Jihyo would never have wanted to see a man again and so waited before introducing Tzuyu to Daniel.

So far it seemed to be going well, he was naturally charismatic and while Tzuyu was shy he had soon coaxed an animal based conversation out of her. It seemed like the real Tzuyu was coming back, in fact it had done for a while. She would occasionally make one of her savage remarks or make a sarcastic comment and all the girls would smile because that was their girl. She had been the one to invite Daniel, saying she needed to know if he was good enough for her Jihyo. It was worrying how well they’d gotten along, even more so when Tzuyu began bringing up high-school-Jihyo stories.

Of course Jeongyeon and Nayeon jumped on that band wagon.

Still she’d take the embarrassment to keep that little smile on Tzuyu’s face.

But good things tend to go hand in hand with the bad. The doorbell rang at around six in the evening, Momo had been closest to the door and so went to answer it. For a while there was nothing, but then it happened.

“No you can’t come in.”

Arguing…

“She’s not here!”

Everyone froze and Jihyo slowly stood so that she could see into the hallway. A man, a large man, shoved Momo out the way and stormed in.

“ZIYU!”

Tzuyu froze.

Jihyo watched her, watched the fear spread across her face as she started to shake. They knew who this man was.

He burst into the living room and spotted Tzuyu, eyes like murder as he looked between her and Daniel who was sat next to her. He shouted something Jihyo didn’t understand but assumed to be him demanding to know who the other man was. Tzuyu answered him after her yelled again, her voice low and shaky.

“You need to leave.” Nayeon snapped,

“Yes we do.” The man growled,

So he spoke Korean?

“Tzuyu come!”

He ordered her like she was a dog.

“Now!”

She was too scared to move.

He growled and stormed over to her, “This is stupid. You are my wife. You do as I say.”

He grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the exit but Daniel and Sana stood with her and held her other arm. She wasn’t going anywhere, they’d make sure of it.

“She’s not going anywhere with you!” Chaeyoung told him firmly, getting between him and the door,

Dahyun moved to her side arms folded.

Like he couldn’t yeet the wonder twins if he wanted.

Instead he turned and yelled at Tzuyu in their shared language again and tugged her arm so suddenly the other duo holding her had to let go in fear she’d be hurt. Tzuyu tried to pull her arm from his grip and Jihyo began trying to get to her and help. The bastard lost his temper and raised his free hand.

_SMACK!_

Everyone froze.

Nayeon stopped dialling for the police.

Jeongyeon stopped shouting.

And Jihyo?

Jihyo. Saw. Red.

Two steps, that’s all was needed before she was close enough to rip his strong hand off of Tzuyu’s now bruised arm. She grabbed the photo album they’d been looking through earlier off the table and began thumping him over and over with it. The tall girl fell back at the force of Jihyo’s separation, Daniel immediately pulling her up and to safety. Jihyo stopped her assault and stared him down, ignoring Daniel calling her, it was like nobody else in the room could stop her tornado. It was one thing hearing what he had done, but seeing him do it had lit a massive fire under her ass. She shoved him, hard, the action causing him to take a step back in shock at her strength.

It was kind of like when mothers could suddenly lift cars off of babies due to their instinct to protect.

“You like hitting women?” If looks could kill the bastard would be dead ten times over, “You like women being scared of you? Try me. Swing at me, I dare you.”

He looked her up and down, sizing her up, but with Daniel stepping forward ready to intervene he backed down.

“I am not leaving without my wife.”

“She is not your wife, nor is she your property,” Jihyo told him, “If she doesn’t want to go with you, she wont.”

He stepped forward but Jihyo just smacked him with the album over and over again, she viewed it as bastard repellent.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Friends. House!”

Obviously, each word followed by a thump with the album.

When he eventually fell back Jihyo grabbed him by his arm and dragged him to the door, Chaeyoung was the only one who snapped out of her stupor to help by running to open the front door. Jihyo threw him out like the trash he was and when he yelled that it wasn’t over she slammed the door in his stupid face and told Nayeon to call the police. Immediately she went to check Tzuyu who was badly shaken, her arm was badly bruised from where he had grabbed it and her cheek had a large red hand print on.

Jihyo felt her rage begin to build again as she looked at that horrible hand print but Tzuyu walking forward to hug her tightly knocked out any fight she had. She hugged back just as tightly.

Later that night when Daniel would tell her off for putting herself in danger she wouldn’t apologise and she definitely wouldn’t promise to not do it again.

She’d do it all over again if it kept Tzuyu safe - no matter the consequences.

__________

_ SEPTEMBER _

__

Mina didn’t know why Tzuyu had called her.

Surely Sana or Nayeon or hell even Jihyo would have been a better choice but no, Tzuyu had called her about this.

Long story short, Tzuyu’s co-worker at the vet (the receptionist actually) had asked her out on a date. Now Tzuyu was a lot like Momo in the sense that she’d never actually “come out” as anything in particular. She was content in liking who she liked, especially since she did not enjoy the company of most people anyway let alone have crushes, so nobody had really talked to her about it. They all thought she had been asexual for a little while but then they all went to a Sunmi concert and she announced that wasn’t true.

Anyway, this girl from her work had asked her out and Tzuyu had said yes. Yeri was a nice girl, the only person outside of their little group that had been able to get close to Tzuyu through a mutual love of animals. She seemed nice, friendly and to genuinely like Tzuyu and so she thought maybe it was worth giving her a chance. Only the closer it got to the date the more and more nervous Tzuyu got. She hadn’t been on a date in years and that whole situation hadn’t ended well. As to be expected, Tzuyu was panicking a little….a lot. So she called Mina to help her get ready.

The awkward duo both stood in Nayeon’s spare room staring at the still very minimal amount clothing Tzuyu had with no clue how to proceed.

“So how…” Tzuyu began, “…do I talk to females…?”

“If you find out can you let me know?” Mina half-joked,

She too was but a hopeless gay.

Tzuyu set out an outfit, it was just a nice shirt and jeans but they decided that it’d do for a date. Mina ended up laying on Tzuyu’s bed, subtly stalking this Yeri chick on Facebook. She may not be the most vocally protective of the group but she definitely wanted to check that this girl was on the up and up. From how Tzuyu had described she’d seemed nice and her profile was filled with animal pictures so they’d have a lot to talk about.

“So why did you call me about this?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Tzuyu asked, checking herself over in the mirror,

Mina shrugged, “I don’t know, usually you go to Jihyo about these things.”

Tzuyu sighed, “I knew you wouldn’t make a big thing out of this, I’m nervous enough without worrying about Jihyo following me to the restaurant or Nayeon Facebook stalking the girl…”

Mina subtly locked her phone and slipped it into her pocket.

“You’re like me - you don’t like a fuss.” Tzuyu finished,

“Well, they’ve gonna fuss a little.” Mina told her, “They’re protective.”

“I know,” Tzuyu replied, “But that’s not what I need right now.”

“Does Yeri know…about the b-word?”

“B-Word?”

“Ladies don’t swear.”

Tzuyu gave a small smile, “She know’s bits and pieces but not everything. I wanna keep most of it to myself.”

“Don’t shut her out completely though, if something comes from tonight you can’t shut down. Especially no if you like her.”

Tzuyu seemed to think over her words quietly for a moment.

“So are you nervous?” Mina asked softly,

“I mean yeah…” Tzuyu suddenly looked very small, “Part of me is scared she’ll be like him. Suddenly turn nasty.”

“He didn’t turn nasty, he was a good liar.” Mina said, “She seems sweet from what you’ve told me. Besides she’s only 158cm tall - you can take her!”

Tzuyu laughed, “Thanks Unnie.”

“You’ll have a great time.”

Tzuyu smiled and went back to checking herself over in the mirror before suddenly turning round, “Unnie?”

“Hmm?”

“How did you know how tall she was?”

Mina’s eyes widened comically.

_Oops…_

__________

_ OCTOBER _

__

Dahyun always liked to make people laugh.

She always had done, she was a natural comedian. Her timing was great, she was very quick witted and she definitely didn’t mind making herself look stupid in the name of comedic genius. But never before had making someone laugh made her feel so fulfilled. As she watched Tzuyu doubled over with laughter at the costume Dahyun had put on for their Halloween party, she felt herself smile along with her.

Since coming back Tzuyu hadn’t really given anyone more than a small smile, or rarely a large grin. They had heard a few low chuckles but nothing light, nothing that showed she was somewhat free of her demons even for a moment. That was why this moment meant so much to Dahyun, watching this one minute where Tzuyu was just laughing hysterically with no worry or care. She’ll be the first to admit that when she heard what had happened to her friend she hadn’t been much help. Dahyun didn’t really know what to do in such a delicate situation and so sat back to let the unnies look after her.

Her costume hadn’t been chosen purely to make Tzuyu laugh, Dahyun had just made the correct choice. She had actually been really struggling to think of an idea that could top her Annabelle costume from last year. It needed to be good in order to outdo her previous outfits, Dahyun would always make efforts to out shine even herself. Then she was watching Aladdin and the idea hit her like a train. She wanted to be Robin Williams and Will Smith’s love child - Genie!

So after three hours painting herself blue and 60,000 won she had to give to Chaeyoung so that the girl would paint her back Dahyun was ready and they went over to Nayeon’s for the party. When Tzuyu had opened the door she just about lost her mind. She just kept laughing and it made Dahyun so happy to see.

“Be honest,” She asked once Tzuyu had calmed a little, “Is it the blue or the beard?”

“Neither,” Tzuyu giggled, “It’s the fake abs!”

“They could be real!”

“No…no they couldn’t.” Was Tzuyu’s reply before bursting into laughter again,

Dahyun could have been offended, but it was the first time the savage maknae had returned and she was alright with the teasing.

She’d deal with it all night if it kept that smile on Tzuyu’s face.

_________

_ NOVEMBER _

__

“How much longer do I have to do this?”

“Just a little bit more…”

“You said that an hour ago Chae.”

Chaeyoung poked her tongue out at her model before going back to her painting. Live modelling was Chaeyoung’s latest medium, she changed it often to keep up with all the creative ideas she had. Last month had been clay, she had covered her apartment head to toe in sculptures of all shapes and sizes leading to the girls having to decline her “gifts” after a while. Mina had about thirty of Chaeyoung’s little abstract statuettes before she had to claim she was allergic to the varnish. Oil painting was a lot less problematic, however Chaeyoung had quickly grown bored of painting fruits from her kitchen and asked Tzuyu to model for her.

Tzuyu had always been the model for Chaeyoung’s art pieces, right back to highschool. It was how they got so close, Chaeyoung would need someone to help her and Tzuyu would always be the first to agree.

“Why don’t we take a break?” Chaeyoung suggested,

Tzuyu relaxed from her position and fell on to the couch, Chaeyoung cleaning her brushes before joining her.

“Do you remember in high school when I got into photography?” Chaeyoung asked,

__

“I remember the day after,” Tzuyu teased, “When you showed Jihyo the photos and she noticed we had skipped chemistry to smoke behind the arts building with that senior - Hani.”

“Oh yeah…she was pissed.” Chaeyoung chuckled awkwardly, “They were good photos though, I’ll still have them around somewhere.”

“I’d like to see them,” Tzuyu said before looking wistful, “I was so pretty back then.”

“Back then?” Chaeyoung scoffed, “Tzuyu you’ve always been stunning. Don’t fake humble!”

Tzuyu frowned, “I’m not any more, Chae.”

“D-Don’t say that.”

“I’m covered in scars now,” Tzuyu told her, “The ones on my back are so ugly.”

“Shut up,” Chaeyoung ordered lightly, turning to face her friend, “Chou Tzuyu there is nothing ugly about you, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. In fact your scars make you more so, scars are reminders of everything you have overcome. They mark the moments you were at your lowest and as they healed so did you. Tzuyu you are beautiful, inside and out - do not let him convince you that he has stolen your beauty from you. Nobody can, I wont let them.”

“Chae…” Tzuyu trailed off teary eyed,

Chaeyoung always had a way with words.

__

“We should carry on,” Chaeyoung said with a small smile, “I promise I’ll be finished in less than half an hour.”

“You better be - my neck’s starting to cramp.”

Chaeyoung did finish in the time frame but took an extra moment making sure to capture as much of Tzuyu’s beauty as she could. She owed it to her to make sure the world knows how beautiful Chou Tzuyu really is but if she couldn’t that would be okay too.

Because Chaeyoung would always be there to reassure her.

__________

_ DECEMBER _

__

Tzuyu put the star on the top of the tree in her new apartment.

Everyone had come over to help her put up her decorations and celebrate her finally moving into her own place. It was small and cosy, not that Tzuyu would want anything more. Honestly, Tzuyu was just ready for this year to be over. She was ready to shut this chapter of her life and move on to the bright future she had made for herself. She had a job that she adored, friends who would support her through anything, family that made sure she knew they were always present and a girl she really liked actually interested in her. Finally, she was in a good place again and she had worked hard to get there - though she never had to do it alone.

“Nayeon, are you going to help!?”

“Sana! Watch out!”

“Oops!”

“Are the cookies ready yet?”

“They’re just cooling down---MOMO NO!”

“OWW!”

“I WARNED YOU!”

“I’ll get the first aid kit…”

Tzuyu giggled at the chaos around her. These women had done so much for her, they had looked after her when she thought she was alone. They nurtured her and protected her, ensuring she always felt loved and safe. As she looked over them attempt to help decorate she held a fond smile, she promised herself she would never take them for granted and she certainly wouldn’t allow anyone to eject them from her life again. They made her feel like she could take on anything from small things like leaving her house when she was afraid to, to standing in a court room sending her abusive ex-husband to prison. They spent the year rebuilding her, bringing her back to life and she would be forever grateful to them.

This year they helped her become herself again and next year…next year Tzuyu would do everything she could to repay them for it.

And that was a promise.


End file.
